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December 19, 2008 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 7
communitygroups "A TOTAL TRIUMPH!
Center now has counseling and couples workshops
by Mika Major
Cleveland-The Cleveland LGBT Center will now provide fee-for-service counseling and personal development workshops.
The new Mental Health Clinic began serving the community at the end of October, and the first couples workshop was held the following month.
"For the past two years, the center has provided short-term free counseling but with the demonstrated need for more and longer term services, the clear solution was for us to step up and address the need," said Cleveland LGBT Center executive director Sue Doerfer.
On average, the center makes a dozen referrals each week for individuals, families and couples seeking counseling.
"Certainly in short supply are enough experienced therapists for our transgender community members." Doerfer noted. "Our goal is to become the number one LGBT source for qualified care and counseling."
The center will begin providing counseling with up to 24 sessions available and will
expand with the demand for service. With two licensed therapists calling the center home, clients can receive culturally and therapeutically competent care in a known safe setting.
Augmenting the counseling services are the innovative LGBT-focused workshops.
"Few, if any, LGBT-focused workshops are offered anywhere in the U.S.," said Doerfer, concluding, "This market is far underserved and is a valuable service we can easily provide."
The next workshop is "Connecting and Re-connecting" on Saturday, January 24 from 1-4 pm at the center, 6600 Detroit Ave. This workshop is an interactive, experiential workshop that includes dialogue, creative exercises and general group discussion and is $50 per couple. Other workshops will be scheduled throughout 2009.
For more information about mental health services, contact Jaime Bishop at 216651-5428 ext. 18
jbishop@lgbtcleveland.org.
or
♡
Mika Major is the director of programming for the Cleveland LGBT Center.
Green Faerie Grove celebrates ten years
by Garan du
Columbus-The Green Faerie Grove, a queer Pagan brotherhood, will be celebrating its tenth anniversary this Winter Solstice.
The Green Faerie Grove is an eclectic Wiccan coven for gay, bisexual, and transgender men age 18 and over. Its mission is to provide a safe place for men who love men to worship creation in all of its awesome, diverse splendor in community and brotherhood.
Prior to 1998, Columbus lacked a Pagan worship group dedicated to the needs of men who love men. The last such local group of its kind, the short-lived Circle of Winkte, had dissolved in 1990.
A declaration of intent was made at the 1998 Community Pagan Alliance Yule ritual to form a new group for men who love men to come together in fellowship to worship the Gods. Four gay men founded the Green Faerie Grove on December 30, 1998. The grove held its first Sabbat the following February 1, and the Green Faerie Grove, Inc. was incorporated as a religious institution in the state of Ohio in 2007.
Community service has been a hallmark of the Green Faerie Grove since its inception. In 1999, the grove organized a concert starring Pansy Division and the HIS Kings to benefit the Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition, an LGBT youth services group. Additionally, the grove held several subsequent Hallowe'en fundraisers for KYC.
Since 2002, the Grove's main outreach event has been the Between the Worlds Men's Gathering, held near the Autumnal Equinox. The gathering provides a safe place for men who love men to explore alternative spiritual practices and paths. The BTW community has worked diligently to promote dialogue and to build bridges
and friendships amongst the various Pagan paths for seven years.
Featured in Margot Adler's seminal book Drawing Down the Moon, Between the Worlds is fast becoming the national gathering for scholars and seekers of spiritual expression and experiences relevant to men who love men.
More information on Between the Worlds is at www.betweentheworlds.org.
Members of the Green Faerie Grove are also involved in other activities, helping with other Pagan festivals, teaching workshops, leading rituals, and writing on the subject of gay spirituality. The grove celebrates the eight holy days of the Pagan seasonal calendar, with meetings and rituals held in private homes throughout the year.
Wiccan covens operate like extended families; therefore our selection process for membership is necessarily rigorous. Dedicants are elected from applicants who have been screened via an interview process. Election to full membership occurs after a period of observation as a dedicant. Potential members must demonstrate not only the ability to harmoniously co-exist within a close-knit spiritual and social group, but also to put their spiritual tenets into practice in their daily lives.
The brothers of the Green Faerie Grove look forward to serving the Gods and our various communities for many years to come. Blessed Be.
For further information, contact the Green Faerie Grove, Inc., 3000-B East Main Street #240, Columbus, Ohio 43209, or go to www.greenfaeriegrove.org.
You can also e-mail garandu@att.net or ea@betweentheworlds.org. ♡
Garan du is a co-founder of the Green Faerie Grove.
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